ABC Poem Poetry Form

• ABC poem, a subgenre of the Alphabet Poem is sometimes used as a word game for children in which the child is asked to think up words in alphabetical order and write a poem using those words as the first word of each line. It is an Abecedarius without the history or the spiritual character. Each line of the poem begins with a sequential letter of the alphabet.

• Balancing Act by Judi Van Gorder
An acrobatic
bird with a blue
crown crossed over and
down the daunting
extended
facade
gripping the grate with
half-hearted
indolence.

My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

There was an Old Lady

An old lady, I first thought
But then I looked again
Certainly she’s maybe not
Defined as old my friend.

Especially in times of later born –
Fine times in which we live.
Granted, that she does seem worn
Having always had to give.

I know she was a helpmate first,
Joining with her man each day,
Keeping order when the worst
Lean times came their way.

Mostly she performed
Necessary tasks
Often, when informed –
Probably unasked.

Quietly she made a life,
Raising children, teaching.
Steadily, her husband’s wife
Taking without over-reaching.

Usual days would end in prayer,
Verses would be read you bet.
Wondrous things we not yet there;
X-rays weren’t invented yet.

Yes, she pre-dated bodice rippers,
Zones for buses, even zippers.